Changes in the Design World By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photos: www.vogue.com, www.kenzo.com
We’ve gone through the 2012 Spring/Summer Collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City, London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week and changes are underway at the top fashion houses as well as on the runways.
The right talent is difficult to find these days as House of Dior can attest to. They are still without a head designer although talks with Marc Jacobs are said to be underway.
As with other industries, tough economic times have taken hold of the fashion industry prompting changes due to slumping sales. Some houses feel the need for fresh talent to give an energetic boost to the brand and draw in a new clientele in addition to their current customer base. Downsizing in some instances has made good financial sense as is the case in some instances.
New leaders at design houses shape the total image of the brand. They have control not only over the new designs but also the store designs, the marketing and the advertising. All play a key role in the success of the brand overall.
Statistically, more labels have shaken up their design teams now than at any point in the 1990’s.
With the appointment of Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, the Kenzo brand has gone back to its Asian identity. Chloe’ is opting to return to its high profile identity with the appointment of Clare Waight Keller as the head designer, a Gucci and Ralph Lauren veteran of the industry. Azzaro has brought in Mathilde Castello Branco, a French-Brazilian designer from Lanvin. Cacharel wanted to revitalize the brand and hired Ling Liu and Dawei Sun from Balenciaga and Yves St. Laurent. Perhaps we will see some of the Chinese influence in their clothing.
Three large fashion houses are moving forward at this time without head designers. Dior, Emanuel Ungaro and Gianfranco Ferre’ are all moving forward without a big designer name to their credit.
It will be interesting to see what plays out as we move into a new year, 2012, and approach a new season, Fall/Winter 2012.
Comments are closed.